I Was
by lgkavanagh22
Summary: 10 Gladers sat in a room...A man stood in front of them in a white coat..."Obviously this is not a normal occurrence in your Glade...You have each been removed from the Glade for one day, and one day only...You're here today to each retrieve a single memory from your individual pasts- one we hope will help us map some new areas of the killzone."
1. The Introduction

_10 Gladers sat in a room. It was a surreal experience, almost as if they were in a dream._

_The man stood in front of them in a white coat._

_"Obviously this is not a normal occurrence in your Glade. However, you will soon understand the purpose of today. You have each been removed from the Glade for one day, and one day only. Tomorrow, you will wake up just where you were and have no recollection of the events about to transpire. This is not your escape, nor will it aid in your escape."_

_The Gladers looked at him intently, wondering what he meant. Some tried to speak, but found they could not. No sound escaped their lips._

_The man continued_

_"You're here today to each retrieve a single memory from your individual pasts- one we hope will help us map some new areas of the killzone. Each memory will only be available for a short time, but it will be active long enough to record your reactions."_

_He began pacing the room._

_"The memory will appear to be like a movie- you will not be a part of the memory. Instead you will be simply viewing it. Sights, smells, sounds, emotions will return to you as well."_

_He checked his clipboard. "So we shall not waste any time. Gally, you will be first. Please follow me."_


	2. I Was---Loved

_**A/N: Anything in italics is personal thoughts of the Glader in present time. It could be their reactions, observations, etc. Anything else is what is actually happening in the memory. And yes, their real names (or at least what I imagine their real names to be) are used in the story.**_

**_This is Gally's Memory._**

* * *

_I'm almost blinded by the sunlight. But once my eyes adjust, I_ _realize that the scene is set outside on a beautiful day. I'm looking at a house. Not a big house, but it looks cozy. Somewhere in my mind I recognize it as mine._

_There are two kids in the cracked, stained driveway, who couldn't be older than 7. One is a girl who is facing away from me. But the long dark hair tied up in a braid, the short, thin build, and the brightly colored clothes could only mean that it's my twin sister, Samantha. The boy takes longer to recognize, but it's…me._

My sister throws the ball at me, harder than I've ever thrown in my life, and laughs. "That's 5 baskets for the reigning champ and none for Jack."

I laughed at that. "That's just because I'm not in totally in the zone yet." I took the ball and started to clumsily dribble it before taking a shot at a rusty metal ring where a basketball hoop must once have been. I missed by at least a foot.

My sister laughed even harder. "Jack, it's taken you since Daddy showed us how to play hoops for you to get 'in the zone.'"

A gloomy look came over my face. My sister must have noticed.

"Aw, I'm sorry Jack. I know it's been hard ever since Daddy got the virus. But it's okay that he left, because then you and me and Mom won't get sick, too."

I smiled a little. "I know."

"And I don't ever want you to get sick, Jack. I'd miss you and I'd cry a lot." She hugged me.

"Thanks, Samantha. I'd miss you a lot too if I ever went crazy."

"Sammi," she said quickly. "I told you to call me Sammi."

I started running around, screaming in what was meant to be a sing-song voice, "SAMANTHA! SAMANTHA! MY SISTER IS NAMED SAMANTHA!"

She started running after me, yelling at me to stop and that she took back everything she said about missing me.

_But I knew she didn't mean it, even if Little Me didn't, because she had a smile on her face and love in her eyes_.

After a few minutes though, two official-looking cars pulled into the small driveway. A woman got out of each one and together they knocked on our front door. A woman, my mother, answered.

_They way her hair was ratted and frizzed, her clothes ripped and tattered, and her eyes on the brink of animalistic made my stomach drop and my breath catch. She had the Flare._

The two women whispered to my mother, and when Samantha and I notced, we crept up to eavesdrop.

_My ears filled with what we must have heard. It wasn't continuous, and only pieces were understandable:_

_"…immune…only 1%...WICKED…killzone, where the virus attacks…experiments…sister, unfortunately…use her as a control…"_

When they finished their speech, my mother nodded. The women looked down at my sister and me. They told us that they were going to take us away, but somewhere safe.

Our mother nodded again and hugged us for a long time. Finally, she released us, tears in her eyes. "You're going to be safe. They'll make everything okay. Everything okay…everything okay…" she repeated the phrase softly.

The women took us towards the cars. Samantha grabbed my hand and held on like her life depended on it.

"Okay, you're going to come with me…" one of the ladies said, and went to lead Samantha to her car.

"No, not without Jack," Samantha replied firmly.

The woman looked impatient. "I'm sorry, but you and your brother will be separated. Now please, come with me…"

"No!" she yelled. "I won't go without him! I need him! I'll miss him! I wanna stay with my brother." She started crying as she protested. "I won't go without him! I want to be with Jack!"

The other woman, the gentler looking one, took Samantha's hand. "It'll be okay. Why don't you give him a hug, then you can go with me?"

Samantha still sniffled. "I'll see him when we get there, right?" she asked, still gripping my hand.

The women looked at each other.

"If things go the way we plan…" the impatient one began.

"Of course you will," the second one interrupted.

Samantha thought for another moment. "Well okay then," she said. She looked at the women suspiciously, then wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I don't wanna leave you," she said. "I'll cry if we get apart too long. Okay?"

"Okay. I will, too," I said back.

Then we let go and headed to the separate vehicles.

_I got a bit choked up. Because I just saw a display of something I hadn't seen-much less felt- since that day. I realized that I had completely forgotten how this felt since entering the Glade. Because I was hated there. But in the real world...before I came here..._

_I was loved._


	3. I Was---a Kid

**_This is Chuck's memory._**

* * *

_I wake up in a dark room with a big screen in front of me. On screen is a boy- me, from a long time ago. I can't be older than 5, if that._

_I'm standing in front of a run-down house in a pair of patched overalls and a dirty white shirt. My smile stands out against the dirt caked on my face. Another boy, my old friend Randall, was there as well._

"Mommy, Mommy!" I yelled out. "Randall and I are gonna play outside!"

_A large woman with sunken eyes and a sweet smile turned the corner into the room. My mom._

"Not without a grown-up, you're not," she said.

"Then will you come watch us, Mommy, please please please?" I begged.

"Well…" my mother started.

_But she was just teasing_.

I ran up and hugged her leg. "Mommy, if you do I promise to be super good forever and ever and I'll be your best friend!" I pleaded. "Pleeeeeease?"

My mother laughed. "Well, how could I say no to that? Come on, we can go on the driveway."

"Yay! Come on, Randall, we can go be pirates! I'll be Captain Michael and you can be the first mate."

"Why do I gotta be first mate?" Randall whined.

"Cuz…you can be Captain next time," I justified.

As we ran outside, we were grinning ear to ear. I shut my left eye (with some difficulty) to simulate an eye patch. Randall and I found some twigs lying around to use as swords.

The next hour was a blast. We spoke in a pirate language, ran around the driveway to seem like we were sailing the seven seas, and pretended to battle robots, aliens, mutant animals, and, when Randall got tired of being first mate, we battled each other.

He eventually overthrew me and took over the ship.

_But I'm still enjoying myself. I'm having fun._

I was about to start a revolution of my own against the now-Captain Randall when a black car pulled into the driveway.

A man and a woman got out and approached my mom.

_I don't recognize either of them initially. Are they relatives? Younger me didn't even give the car- or the people in it- a second glance_.

Randall and I kept playing pirates.

_But now I was focusing on the conversation my mom was having with the pair of strangers. What were they talking about? The conversation went on for a long time, and my mother seemed to be getting angrier by the second. Finally, she began to shout._

"How on earth would you know what is best for him?! Or for the rest of humankind for that matter?!"

The man silently pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to my mom. She angrily opened it and read it quickly.

"Property of WICKED?"

_WICKED. They're the ones that put me here? I'm their…property?_

"You think my son is government property?!" my mom was continuing to shout. "He's not anyone's 'property,' he's just a child!"

My mom kept on her ranting and arguing with the man, but the woman came up to me.

"Hi, Michael, I'm Officer Lynette. How are you?" she asked sweetly. How could I not trust her? She was an officer.

"I'm First Mate Michael!" I said proudly.

"Well, First Mate Michael, how would you like to take a ride in my sailboat over there?" she asked, gesturing to the car.

"That's not a sailboat!" I said quickly. "It's a rocket ship! Going to the moon!" I ran over to where the car was parked, now only vaguely aware of my mother still yelling and sobbing in the background.

_I didn't even say good-bye?_

The lady lifted me into the car. "So, Michael, what's your favorite animal?"

"Well," I started, "I like monkeys because they're funny. And birds because their beaks are pretty and could probably bite your head off!"

_As I was rambling, the man joined us in the car._

I waved goodbye to Randall out the window, not giving a second thought to where I could possibly be going.

_Did he ever wonder where I'd gone? I wished I could tell him._

_I went to a village full of boys who don't like me. I got stuck with all the horrible jobs that no one else wanted. I had to grow up and work and be responsible._

_Unlike back in the days of that memory. When I was imaginative and carefree and loud and silly…_

_When I was a kid._


	4. I Was---a Criminal

**_A/N: I 'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while. School is getting really busy. _**

**_This is a different take on Newt than in my other TMR FanFic. And it may seem a bit unrealistic and an odd way to imagine Newt's life before the Maze, but I have an idea for someone else that will end up building off this. (If you're confused...you'll see soon enough.:P I promise!) So I hope you like it. :)_**

**_This is Newt's memory._**

* * *

_I don't like this situation. Not one bloody bit. Killzone? Reactions? It all seemed suspicious. But I suppose I don't have a choice._

_The screen turns on, flooding my eyes with light. I blink._

_Then a blonde kid, me, when was 7 or 8 years old, appears. He's wearing only an unzipped jacket with patches all up the sleeves,` a pair of ripped blue jeans, and beat-up tennis shoes._

_And he's running. Unrestricted. No limp or anything. And he's FAST. Was I really ever like this? It seems impossible._

_Finally it crosses my mind to wonder why I'm running…_

Cops.

The bloody cops are on my tail.

And for what? A bracelet. A tiny gold chain, no jewels or charms or anything

Not that jewels and charms are common around here. Britain was hit hard with this Flare virus that seems to be going around.

I had met a woman who promised me a full meal- with biscuits and tea and everything- if I could get her this bloody bracelet. And I had. How could I not? I'm one of the best thieves in town.

And the cops know it. That's why they're chasing me. They think they'll catch me this time.

So what I stole from a shop? People are dying left and right. Some 7 year old who gets by on stealing now and then should be the least of their worries.

Alright, maybe more often than "now and then," but they've never caught me. They normally give up after two minutes. I'm too fast for them. Why are they going to such lengths to chase me down now?

"Boy! Stop! Ya don't get away with thievin' around here!"

Yelling at me…good. They were slowing down. It's about bloody time.

"Can't keep up?" I yelled behind me. Their footsteps were slowly becoming more distant.

I saw an alley up ahead, an alley I knew ended in a fence that I could climb and they couldn't.

I darted down the alley confidently. I even had some time before they would catch up.

But I soon skidded to a halt. The fence was still there, but was now adorned with barbed wire, strung almost delicately across the top.

"Bloody 'ell," I muttered to myself. I sighed and turned to run back out of the alley, but I was too late. A row of tired-looking policemen blocked the way. They were catching their breath and one almost passed out.

If I could just get past them, I could outrun them. I _knew_ I could do it. But how was I going to get around them? There were at least 6, standing shoulder to shoulder across the way.

I forced a sarcastic smile. "Hey, look at that. You finally caught up to me. Bloody brilliant job. You can have your bracelet back then I suppose," I said, tossing it at one of the cops who looked to be in better shape. "I look forward to our next chase. If you can find me, that is."

The policeman caught the chain without a problem. "Kid, you've got a hell of a lot of nerve. We've got enough trouble on our hands without having thievin' children running around. You've given us enough trouble that you aren't going anywhere. So let's just cooperate and we can get your parents and maybe we can set you straight."

I kicked a rock towards them. "Parents? I ain't got no bloody parents. Lost 'em to the Flare."

The cops exchanged glances, "I'm sorry to hear that, son, but that doesn't make you a saint. Now come with us before this gets ugly."

I laughed. "Like hell, I'm coming with you. You want me, catch me."

I turned back to the fence. Barbed wire or no barbed wire, I was getting over that fence.

Climbing it was a synch. But as I was bracing myself for the pain of the wire, I felt a sharp pang in my neck. In another instant, I blacked out.

_The screen went off. Was that it? I was arrested for stealing? Is that the end of the memory?_

_No, because seconds later I was hearing voices. I guess I was just regaining consciousness._

"So is he immune?"

"Unfortunately, no. It's a shame. We could have used him."

"We still can. He'd just be a Control."

"Yes, I suppose. But I had much higher hopes for him. He seemed like a perfect Candidate. Only…"

"Only a Candidate must be immune. That's the point of this whole Maze."

"Yes. But he'll be perfect in this environment. His athletic and physical ability combined with his intelligence will produce enough data that we may be done with this experiment far sooner than we anticipated."

"Perfect."

"What's his story? I was never told."

"Well, the Swipe told us that he's a crook. He's been stealing his way through life since he was orphaned by the Flare. Can't say I really blame him. Cops have been after him for months. They've chased him, but he was always just too fast. Could run farther and faster than anyone. They finally got him cornered in an alleyway last week. Wanted to throw him in the Home for Children. But it's better for all of humanity to have him here with us."

"Yes, definitely."

_Better for humanity? What the shuck are they talking about? And what was all this about not being immune and a Control?_

"If we want him to be an Original, we'll have to re-teach him morality. We can't have a thief leading this group."

"We will. Psychologists are already working on an effective method to change his idea of moral. They've picked a buzzword."

"Ah, of course. What have they chosen?"

"'Order.'"

"Order?"

"Yes. They plan to make it so he can never get that word out of his head."

_The voices faded. Silence overtook the room. The memory was over._

_I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn't believe it._

_I was an orphan. I didn't have anyone before this Maze. I had to steal just to stay alive. I broke the rules and tried to avoid the consequences. I had no order in my life._

_Now I was the exact opposite. I was the one keeping everyone in line, making sure everyone did what they needed to do and establishing order._

_It was really bloody difficult-almost impossible- to imagine how I would have been if I had stayed the way I was back then. Breaking the law just to get another meal. Running from the cops to avoid a Children's Home. Willing to face barbed-wire fences just to gain another day of freedom. But I guess I was just living the way I was supposed to._

_After all, I was a criminal._


End file.
